Samsung Launches New Business Experience

By Stephanie Blanchard, Assistant Editor — May 06, 2013

Accounting for 42% of the Android market, to say that Samsung is popular among consumers is an understatement. But it’s the enterprise that the tech giant wants next. Despite the delay of Knox, a key security component for the new Galaxy S4 smartphone, the company is aggressively going after business with a worldwide brand campaign for specific verticals.

Titled the “New Business Experience,” the advertising campaign will target retail, hospitality, healthcare, education and SMB. In an interview with Mobile Enterprise, Tim Wagner, VP, Samsung, clearly defined the tech giant’s mission as such. “Our goal is to become the absolute thought leader of B2B, and while doing so, become the number one provider of B2B solutions globally,” he said.

Acting on these objectives, the campaign, which has started across nine markets including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, China, Singapore, Russia and Brazil, features print, video and animated banner ads, along with a redesigned business landing page and case studies on Samsung’s website. Ads will depict traditional business activity along with an “unexpected scenario” in a retail, healthcare, education or hospitality setting.

Building on BYOD
When the Galaxy 4 debuted, it came with great fanfare, complete with an “Unwrapped” event at Radio City Music Hall. In complete contrast, the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3, which is missing several features such as Air Gestures and the S Translator, recently launched without notice. Running on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), the new device will be available this summer, pricing to be announced.

Just like its predecessors, the new smartphone is very likely to find its way into corporations via the prosumer, the smaller tablet, however, not as likely due to several factors. Carl Howe, VP of Research, Yankee Group, has said the screen size may be seen as too small by consumers. “Prior to this, most of the Galaxy Tab series of tablets such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.1 have sported their screen size in the name,” he said. “By introducing a Galaxy Tab 3 for a 7-inch tablet, Samsung runs the risk of confusing consumers and possibly rejecting their latest tablet as having a 3-inch screen.”

Still, Samsung is building on BYOD and the consumerization of IT, taking it all a step further by showing why they are “relevant in the enterprise” through the new marketing campaign.

“Many business leaders know and trust Samsung products and use them in their personal lives, whether it’s a TV, laptop, home appliance or Galaxy Tab or smartphone,” said Tod Pike, SVP, Enterprise Business Division, Samsung, in a released statement. “Our goal with this campaign is to demonstrate that Samsung’s vertical market technologies mirror the company’s commitment to innovation in consumer electronics and offer business leaders a consistent experience.”

Security Layer
BlackBerry, long known for its security, has just announced U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) approval for BES 10 and the new Z10 and Q10 smartphones. This is not unexpected, as a majority of the Pentagon’s 600,000 smartphone users — 78% — are already on BlackBerry. iOS is also known, albeit for different reasons, for the security of the platform.

Android, however, has always been notoriously unsecure, and devices running this OS weren’t even allowed at the DoD until 2012. But Samsung has changed all that.

Knox-enabled devices, including smartphones and tablets, were also just approved by the Federal Agency. The DoD security requirement guidelines for mobile OSes are significantly high, so this is a major step for Samsung to grow its relationships with regulated industries such as the health and financial sector, along with other government agencies.

“IDC research shows that mobile security continues to be of utmost importance to government agencies around the globe,” said Stephen D. Drake, Program Vice President, Mobility & Telecom at IDC. “The U.S. Department of Defense’s strict security requirements are amongst the highest in the world, and this allows other government bodies to follow suit.”

In addition to the DoD approval, Samsung is actively seeking certifications from other international government certification bodies.

topics

Must See

FEATURED REPORT

Logic would lead to the conclusion that utilizing a mobile first strategy—designing experiences for mobile devices and processes, with the mobile user in mind—would automatically lead to mobile productivity, but that is not the reality. Here are the critical things needed to take mobile productivity to the next level.